Flashlight Gels are ready for testing!

So we have an interesting new feature on PTS and I’d really like to get some feedback from everyone on how it feels.

We've added a new cosmetic called Flashlight Gels to the Commissioner, Underboss, and their respective cosmetic variants. They’re basically an image projected on the flashlight beam. We’d like to make sure these still serve as functional flashlights and don’t get in the way too terribly much, so hop on, check them out, and let me know the following:

·Are you still able to see/shoot effectively with a gel equipped?·Which gels are the most usable? Which are the least?·Do you notice any impact to performance with a gel equipped?·Would you want to use a gel flashlight on Live?·Anything else we need to know about?

Obviously we don’t want to release anything that hinders gameplay, so feel free to give any constructive feedback about this feature that you have to offer.

One thing to note, the darklight on these puppies doesn't currently work, but it should once we get it fixed up. Until then, just focus on whether or not you can see/play normally with a gel equipped.

The biggest obstacle is getting used to the way the projection shifts away from the center of the reticule based on distance and angle. That aside, some of the gels (notably the more colorful, full lens ones) tend to make all the colors in the beam look much more homogenous, which cuts down on object/color recognition... which would likely undermine an already under-used attachment.

Most usable (and attractive) in current incarnation are the skull and the bullseye one that Shaql previewed on VL. (Assuming it doesn't have some major issue that sets it apart from the skull's functionality.)

Based on what I've seen so far, I think the key to making a gel useful and attractive is using a black background (like the skull) and low color saturation. As an example, I'd lower the "orangeness" of the sun gel and change the background to black. Aside from being less visually noisey and not obscuring the colors you're looking at as much, it also helps give the user a clearer idea of where hipshots will land, as the symbol is smaller and easier to recognize on targets.

Barring any unique problems, I think the reticule one I mentioned in Shaql's preview is going to be easy-money for SOE. The skull (which I had no desire to use, initially) I think is going to be a good seller as well. Personally, I'd probably pick up the reticule one, and might grab the skull. Honestly, given my name, the sun gel is the one I'd initially wanted, but in its current incarnation I wouldn't use it.

For one, im running out of SC and without an SC sale theres nothing to tempt me to buy more cosmetics.

Im v. high BR and after chewing though a ton of SC have most all of the weapons im going to need (and make enough certs for new ones) so any future purchase of SC would only be for frivolous items like cosmos, voice packs etc

Plus since smed never came through with his price reductions whatever the gels cost its too much, even 100SC.

Add to that the physical working of the beam, its really short as it is (on high graphics too) and detected infils are quite dim even when fully shined on and the ones on Vanulabs vid are way too heavy, especially ones taking the whole area, the transparency would need to be reduced quite a bit for me to not think its going to hinder actually dispatching them, or ultimately give us a better beam.

EDIT: one more thought Taylor, the whole darklight thing is made more problematic because of it being a rail option. As you know a weapon only has two slots to tune it in any way (barrel and rail) and to carry the darklight we have to blight the weapon running with zero rail customisation. If it was a barrel clip-on option instead wed see it used far more (and youd sell way more gels ).

These flashlights look comical/joke-ish in contrast to the rest of the work done in environment/model design. This happens when masks display the big cartoonish objects.

Points of contrast

Non-sci fi theme - skulls/distorted faces are an example. These might concievably be improved by sci-fi themes but it will still clash with the rest of the scene.

Cartoonish figures

Scene fidelity

The masks look low fidelity compared to the detail in the rest of the scene. An example is the rainbow in the full-spectrum flashlight. This is less evident for the more detailed monochromatic style masks, but still looks low res.

One of the strengths of this game is it's oft praised nuanced lighting - this ruins it (flashlights are used often enough because of darklight to make a noticeable difference to the experience as it stands).

The game relies a lot on videos for marketing, having these show up will not help.

Suggestions
I actually suggested making flashlights useful as a cheap cosmetic only option a while back, instead of having a darklight mechanic intended for the stalker cloak thrown to other useful cloaks. These flashlights are very different to what I was thinking of.

Non-object like flash light masks - even low res sci-fi objects will clash with the scene.

Lighting effects which change with time (simple noise or other modulation in shader).

Volumetric lighting/beams - A Graphics option could do simple volumetric lighting for artificial lights on vehicles/weapons, much like is done with fog shadows. This would significantly enhance aesthetics.

High fidelity in the effects used

Screenspace lighting (post-processing) - Are these effects in 2d using scene depth for fading light?

Other
The full-spectrum flash light has a NSFW Icon that doesn't fit the theme. It's also misleading as it looks nothing like the mask.

Now THIS is the way to go if you want to get more money from the game while maintaining you customer base. No extra fees, no need to pay monthly, Item is completely optional but will add more variation, and no advantages.

Tayradactyl, while I adore the concept, in practicality it is much more of a detriment than a cool feature, since it makes target recognition a mess. I suppose you will make some sales, but I just cannot see this being a thing (I can be horribly mistaken). Now if the light itself was clear/colored and you'd BURN the image into a close wall like a grafiti by standing moderate distance, I could see that. It's great visualy, but personaly nauseating, not to mention the image scales with the cone, which can make it washed.

Also found a bug while sprinting and looking different directions:

Btw, the UI cutout bug appears to be linked to aspect ratio (see the 4:3 box I used)